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Created by Wolfgang Schloegl ( E-Mail ) Updated Jan, 2020

2013-12-18 HISTORY NEEDS TO BE REWRITTEN:
Important information on Toy Toni carded figure scam.

German ESB General Mills 45-Back Cards: (Deutsche ESB Figuren)
As you can see on the picture the German ESB card is a 45-back (45B cardback variant) with 1982 copyright. Collectors also refer to them as General Mills figures, the German distributor for the toys, as written on the back. The German text reads "45 Aktionsfiguren zum Sammeln und Spielen mit Star Wars Raumfahrzeugen".

The printing of the cards is glossy, they are factory punched, the front does not show the familiar Kenner logo in the lower right corner. Also there is an extended black area located below the ESB logo. The making of the cards is similar to the British Palitoy ESB cards. The front does not show any German writing, onyl C-3PO w/ Removable Limbs and R2-D2 w/ Sensorscope have German writing on the front.

There exist two main types of German ESB cardbacks, one with and one without the "STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES Collect all 45!" writing on top. One theory is that the ones with this English text are from the early production runs later removed for the German market.
For me it's astonishing that on my about 30 loose cardback from different sources from Germany I find no single card with this English text but on perhaps 1/3 of the carded figures I got from UK. This is something still to explain.

The German carded figures were produced in the UK together with the Palitoy and Netherlands ESB figures and later the Tri-Logos. Some German 45-backs (ESB and ROTJ) have also been spotted with Palitoy stickers on the back for the UK market, produced when the paricular English cards must have run out of stock.

German 45-back "The Empire Strikes Back" Figures
Not all figures listed have been confirmed so far to exist on German ESB cards. Check the table below for the definitely confirmed figures. There should be 45 different figures on German ESB cards: 43 from the 45 listed plus 4-LOM and Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot. It is unlikely that Jawa, Sandpeople, or Zuckuss were produced since no one has been found so far but who knows at the end? Please let me know if you have a proof of existance for any of these. So far it is reported by bazx that Jawa and Sandpeople were still distributed as US Kenner 20-backs at that time in Germany.

The prices for German ESB cards vary widely. Rare figures easily fetch 4-digit Euro sums if they are in nice condition. Rare figure are indicated below. If for any chance you would like to sell any of these figures please let me know ;-)

End of the 90s beginning 2000s Antoni Emchowicz / Toytoni in the UK had a lot of these figures for sale, all in near mint / mint condition. The figures he offered are listed in the table below (basically the ones that are not "rare"). It was a big scandal in 2013 when it turned out that Antoni had purchased a factory lot with many loose cards and bubbles. He then bought also loose figures and carded them himself. In the beginning all were original parts though. Later he made also his own bubbles. Check the link above in red for more detailled information and consider this when buying.

No. on
Card
Name Confirmed? Rare? Toytoni
had these?
10 2-1B   Yes
(46) 4-LOM rare
3 AT-AT Commander   Yes
13 AT-AT Driver   Yes
42 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (white hair)   Yes
42 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (gray hair)   Yes
2 Bespin Security Guard (black)   Yes
23 Bespin Security Guard (white)   Yes
31 Boba Fett rare
20 Bossk (Bounty Hunter)   Yes
5 C-3PO (Removable Limbs)   Yes
39 Chewbacca   Yes
35 Darth Vader rare
44 Death Star Droid rare
14 Dengar rare
18 FX-7 (Medical Droid)   Yes
38 Greedo rare
36 Hammerhead rare
30 Han Solo   Yes
9 Han Solo (Bespin Outfit)   Yes
19 Han Solo (Hoth Outfit)   Yes
22 IG-88 (Bounty Hunter)   Yes
12 Imperial Commander rare
24 Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) rare
(47) Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot rare
27 Jawa    
16 Lando Calrissian rare
28 Leia Organa   Yes
26 Leia Organa (Bespin Gown)   Yes
15 Leia Organa (Hoth Outfit)   Yes
8 Lobot rare
29 Luke Skywalker rare
25 Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) rare
4 Luke Skywalker (Hoth Battle Gear) rare
43 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) rare
33 Power Droid   Yes
6 R2-D2 (With Sensorscope)   Yes
41 R5-D4 medium Yes
7 Rebel Commander   Yes
21 Rebel Soldier (Hoth Battle Gear)   Yes
32 Sandpeople    
37 Snaggletooth rare
34 Star Destroyer Commander rare
45 Stormtrooper   Yes
1 (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot   Yes
17 Ugnaught medium
40 Walrus Man rare
11 Yoda (brown snake)   Yes
11 Yoda (orange snake)   Yes
(48) Zuckuss    

German 45-back "Return of the Jedi" Figures

Six figures have been confirmed on German 45-backs where the logo has been switched from ESB to ROTJ and the copyright year changed from 1982 to 1983. Please tell me if you know others. Some of these figures occur with a tri-logo bubble instead of an ESB single or twin stem bubble.

No. on
Card
Name Confirmed? Rare? Comment
31 Boba Fett       
back
rare From Jason Smith's page.
(47) Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot back rare  
1 (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot back   This figure was available at Toytoni (see above).
6 R2-D2 (With Sensorscope) back rare Jason Smith reported this R2-D2 with German back side with Palitoy "Free Nien Numb" sticker. The front is in English though.
26 Leia Organa (Bespin Gown) back rare From Jason Smith's page.
43 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) back rare Schabby reported this Luke in 11/2015.

Description: Wolfgang Schloegl, Bobby Sharp, Christian Dzieia, Michael Schlauß, Michael Kukla, Jason Smith
Photos: Wolfgang Schloegl, Antoni Emchowicz, Jason Smith (Mr. Palitoy)
From the collection of Wolfgang Schloegl

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